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Bank Of America Investment Worried that unapproved genetically modified crops will leak into the food supply, the White House is proposing new safety reviews to better protect consumers and to avoid the need for disruptive recalls.

Energy industry regulator Ofgem has proposed a billion investment in the UK's energy network in order to replace old infrastructure.

Investment Opportunity The proposed new rules, which are being published today in the Federal Register, are based on the premise that there are so many field trials of experimental genetically engineered crops that some of the crops will almost inevitably find their way into food, either by cross-pollination or because some of the modified seeds become mixed with other seeds.

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Banc Of America Investment Because the crops that are being tested have not been approved for commercial growing or human consumption, even low levels of contamination could prompt health concerns or food recalls.

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Banking Investment So the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is suggesting that the crops undergo a preliminary safety assessment by the Food and Drug Administration or the Environmental Protection Agency before field trials grow so large that such contamination would be likely. The assessment, which would not be required, would look at whether the new protein introduced into the crop by gene splicing was toxic or would cause allergies.

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Investment Solution Strategic If the crop was deemed not to be harmful, then low levels that inadvertently leaked into the food supply would not be cause for alarm or recalls. The government also hopes that importers of American crops or food would not reject shipments because of a low-level presence of unapproved genetically modified crops. The proposal does not spell out how much contamination might be permissible.

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Investment Banking Services Field trials are now subject to the approval of the Agriculture Department, which looks mainly at environmental effects. The F.D.A. or the E.P.A. look at the health aspects but usually not until the crop moves closer to commercialization. Those assessments would still be made.

Bank Investment The Biotechnology Industry Organization, which represents biotechnology crop developers, welcomed the new proposals. "For consumers, this enhancement adds yet another layer of assurance to the existing regulatory review of agricultural crops," it said in a statement.

Alternative Investment But Andrew Kimbrell, director of the Center for Food Safety, a Washington group opposed to genetically engineered foods, said the proposal, while a step in the right direction, was "too little too late."

Online Investment Services "They are recognizing that there is a likely or future problem with contamination of conventional crops with genetically engineered varieties creating potential health risks," he said. But, he added, the proposed new policy does not address the trials that are already under way, so his group will seek a moratorium on field trials until the new regulations are in place.

Accompany Essential Investment He also said his group wanted to make sure the regulations were "not simply a disguise to bail out companies" if their experimental crops end up in food.

Investment Company Gene Grabowski, a spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers of America, said food companies would have preferred the safety assessment be made mandatory to send a stronger signal to consumers.

Investment Management Solution The biotechnology and food industries have already been stung by some incidents of contamination. Most notable was the case when genetically modified StarLink corn, which had been approved only for animal feed, was found in taco shells and other foods, causing large recalls and severely hurting American corn exports.

Investment Management Services In April, Monsanto and Aventis CropScience, two developers of genetically modified crops, said some genetically modified canola seeds not approved in the United States might have found their way into farmers' fields.

Guide Investment Stock The proposed new policies would go through a period of public comment and might take months to become effective.

Investment Manual Solution By Andrew Pollack
New York Times - 8/2/2002

Topic: Genetic Engineering

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